Engineers at ANU have invented a semiconductor with organic and inorganic materials that converts electricity into light, is thin and flexible enough to make mobiles bendable, and opens the door to a new generation of devices that will be biodegradable or easily recycled.

A joint venture between engineering firm Civmec and German shipbuilder Luerssen to build offshore patrol vessels, and Austal’s contract for guardian-class patrol boats, both in Henderson WA, could see engineers lured to the west instead of South Australia and Victoria.

General Motors, the parent company of Holden, has announced it will add 150 established and graduate engineers to its Australian operations to work on future technology for autonomous vehicles and electric powertrains.